A woman who is embroiled in a dispute over parking has defended her actions after being accused of criminal damage for sticking a note to a car with “glue or silicone”.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims she is not “a nasty person” but she had suffered enough when her disabled friend could not visit her because he couldn’t get parked.
She has now defended her actions after sisters Ellie Newman, 36 and Jordana Timeyin, 39, went to the press after they had notes stuck on their luxury Range Rover cars with glue, claiming it was an act of “criminal damage”.
The sisters, who work at Loan Agency Bridgewater Acceptances in a street close to where they park, say they are perfectly within their rights to part there, as they both pay tax.
The note in black felt tip pen read: “Please stop using this street as a car park.
“Residents are coming home from work/shopping and can not park on their own street!!”
But the disgruntled resident said she wants to see more consideration for people who live on the street in Whitefield, Greater Manchester.
The woman told Manchester Evening News : “My friend wanted to visit, I was making him a dinner as he can barely walk now without a stick and can’t stand up to cook.”
“But he couldn’t come as he couldn’t park his car outside my house.
“Without being able to park right outside, he couldn’t walk down the street, so he couldn’t come.”
The woman said some residents have three cars if it is a family where both parents work and their grown up children also drive.
But she says the street, made up of Victorian houses, was not built for cars and there is no possibility of building individual drive ways.
She says the problem is exacerbated by people who don’t live on the street using it as a place to park their vehicles.
She said: “I am not a nasty person and would not do anyone a bad turn but this has been going on for 12 months. There is a back to the shops where they work and I am sure they could park there.
“I make no apologies, I have not been rude or malicious.”
Ellie reported the incident on line to Greater Manchester Police.
The resident said: “It is not criminal damage, the substance I stuck it on with was easy to peel off. It was like a plasticine.
“It was a reasonable request, I was not rude. I just explained how things were from a residents view point.
“If you are parking there all day you must know you are causing a problem for somebody.
“I don’t like seeing how we have become a very selfish society. I have no time for it.”
According to the official RAC parking guide: “It is perfectly legal to park outside someone’s house, unless the vehicle is blocking a driveway or a wheel is over a dropped kerb.
“Other situations in which parking isn’t permitted include streets governed by residents’ parking permits or any of the restrictions outlined above, i.e. double yellow lines.”
